Which to use
“sabe” and “say” are a confusable Spanish pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #357
- “sabe” frequency rank
- #15,225
- “say” frequency rank
- 15582
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | sabe | say |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Tercera persona del singular (él, ella, ello; usted, 2.ª persona) del presente de indicativo de saber. | Decir. |
Where the eye mixes sabe and say
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 2 letters in sequence.
Look-alike desk: sabe vs say
A purely visual mix-up. sabe ([ˈsaβ̞e]) and say (/seɪ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 15582, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
sabe is recorded at frequency rank #357, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈsaβ̞e]. say is at rank #15,225, tagged as averb, pronounced /seɪ/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 15582, this pair ranks #279,582 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of sabe vs say
Shared letters: as. Private to "sabe": be. Private to "say": y.
"sabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "say" · 3 letters · shape CVV
Known mistypes of this pair
- sabe ← asbe · sabbe · saeb · sbae · ssabe
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "sabe" for "say" ever safe?
In ordinary Spanish text, does "sabe" or "say" show up more?
What to do next
Eye-level mix-up between "sabe" and "say" is sorted above. Next: full entries or other pairs that share a letter shape.
- Full dictionary entry for "sabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "say" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #279,582 of 323,831 scored Spanish confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "sabe" and "say" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "sari vs say". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #279,582 of 323,831 scored Spanish pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.